Game Review: Pokemon X/Y

I honestly haven't seen as much anticipation or excitement from a Pokemon game in a long time. The last one I played was SoulSilver which was essentially a DS remake of the classics Gold/Silver. After much talk about it from my friends who played it, I just had to give this a shot once I came into possession of a 3DS. I was worried of being left out of the loop having skipped out on the prior generation brought by the Black/White versions and their sequels but I was told that those weren't too exciting and this was the jumping on point for me.

Pokemon X/Y is the latest installment of the worldwide phenomenon that is well...Pokemon. It also marks the first game in the franchise to launch on the Nintendo 3DS/2DS system. Featuring full blown 3D models and a vast region (which after playing yes it is based off of Paris, France). The battles are also more energetic with the Pokemon moving more and more along with their moves. Things go a bit differently than what you might be used to in a Pokemon game. For starters you have no Rival and instead travel with 4 other friends. You also receive your starter (3 brand new ones) from them instead of the resident Professor.

The visuals are even more inviting this time around!

You are also able to customize your character's look with clothing bought from a town/city's clothing store, because if you're going to be the very best you might as well do it in style! There aren't a lot of brand new Pokemon introduced with majority of them being past favorites. Traveling is expanded even more with taxi cabs, riding Pokemon and Roller Skates! However the two most talked about features that X/Y bring are a brand new type and Mega Evolutions.

The new type was introduced first by showing off a new evolution for the Pokemon Evee. That evolution being named Sylveon, it's type? Fairy. Sounds silly at first but having played through I can honestly say that Fairy type Pokemon are kind of over powered? Not that there's anything wrong with that cause my current highest leveled Pokemon is Sylveon and some of the Fairy type moves are absolutely staggering! It was introduced to act as another counter to the infamous Dragon type, which up to this point were only weak against Ice types and itself. Add on the fact that Dark and Fighting are also weak and I found myself using her constantly. Most of the ones used by Team Flare (this generation's primary antagonist) fit the weakness bill.

Here comes Sylveon!

Mega Evolutions is another big thing introduced here. At first I thought that certain Pokemon were getting yet another evolution to their line when it's actually quite different. While Mega Evolutions do apply to certain creatures, all it is, is a boost in certain stats plus a new image. Some even have 2 depending on which version you get (Mewtwo becomes a Psychic/Fighting type in X while getting a big boost in Special Attack in Y and Charizard either gets a boost in Y or becomes a Fire/Dragon type in X to name a few). Each evolution requires a certain stone to be found (most of which are post Elite Four). In terms of appearance changes, they look awesome! Blastoise gains a third cannon on its shell!

Fighting off against Team Flare was interesting. The reasons that their leader gives for doing their deeds do seem legitimate at first but they are like always the wrong way to go about. I should also note that the Professor of Kalos (the region in X/Y) has glorious hair. The new Gyms are also interesting with puzzles and a layout specific to the Gym's Pokemon type of choice. Other features include Pokemon-Amie which allows you to interact with a Pokemon to raise it's affection towards you. This can have some effect in battle such as landing more critical hits. There's Super Training which raises stats, the return of the Global Trade System and something called Wonder Trade where you don't know what exactly you'll get and from whom.

Some of the Mega Evolutions. From left to right: Tyranitar, Alakazam, and Pinsir

I covered alot so far in my short time playing this game and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. The replay value as with all main games is very high as you work on bonding with your Pokemon and making them stronger. Having picked up X, the legendary for that version is freaking badass. The cutscenes in the game are also fantastic and the over-arching story is very touching. You can be sure that lots of time will be spent and that old Pokemon addiction that many of us are familiar with will creep on back.

Xerneas, LOOK AT IT'S MAJESTY.

Should you Play this game?
Yes! The new features, region and Pokemon are amazing to look at and battling has never been this much fun. Prepare to be spending alot of time trying to catch them all.